Thanksgiving 2012

This was our first Thanksgiving in Hawaii, and also the first Thanksgiving I made the turkey! I was a little nervous, but it turned out awesome! I realize I probably need to invest in a roasting pan, a baster and a gravy boat... but we had a really great meal with some wonderful friends!

I had been thawing out the turkey in the fridge for 3 days, and then the day before Thanksgiving, I made Pioneer Woman's Favorite Turkey Brine and put the 23 lb turkey in a big ziplock (like XXL) inside a cylinder igloo cooler (the kind used to dispense liquid!) which turned out to be perfect because the whole bird was surrounded by the brine. Luckily this whole thing fit in our fridge! The next day, we took the bird out and rinsed it off really well. We roasted it, covered in foil, at 275 for about 4 hours.  After that, we took it out and stuffed it with orange and lemon slices, onions, thyme and sage. We then rubbed the butter (that was mixed with rosemary, orange zest and salt and pepper) all over the bird. We had fresh oranges and rosemary in our yard, so we got really lucky to have the freshest brine/butter/stuffing possible! We put the bird back in at 375, uncovered and baked for another couple of hours until the meat temperature reached 170. We let it rest 20 minutes or so before carving it, and while we made gravy. The turkey was SO good!




I put together this little relish plate to look like a turkey- which was pretty fun! I also had pretzels and dill dip out. The other food I made was PW's mashed potatoes (which can be made the day before!), maple glazed carrots, sweet potatoes, corn souffle, stuffing (I want to tweak this recipe- but I had celery and onion sauteed in butter and chicken broth added to a store bought dressing kit), PW's cranberry sauce (yum and easy!), gravy, pumpkin pecan pies and homemade cream! Of course, I made rolls (we took them to Mass that morning and had them blessed!) but I cheat and use the can rolls! We also had each guest tell us what they were thankful for, printed them on strips of paper, sprayed them with cooking spray and rolled them into the rolls before cooking. It turned out really great- they came out super clean and easily, and then we all guessed whose thankful item we got! We also play the "ABC's of Thanks" where we go around the alphabet and every person gets a letter to come up with a word that starts with that letter of something they are thankful for. Our guests brought watercrest salad and the yummiest green bean casserole I've ever had (I have to get her version!) and we had tons of drinks- wine, beer, soda, waters and sparkling juice for a special treat for the kids! It was tricky with only my oven to get everything cooked and ready- but I made a timing list and it all worked out great. If you can make ahead the pies, everything else can be ready to cook as soon as the turkey comes out and it should all work out well!

Cranberry Ring

INGREDIENTS:
3 cups of Cranberries, ground or finely chopped
1 1/2- 2 cups of sugar
1 8 oz. can of crushed pineapple (well drained)
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1 cup heavy cream whipped (yes, whip it before putting it in- should take just a few minutes with a hand mixer to make soft peaks form)

DIRECTIONS:
Combine cranberries, sugar, pineapple and nuts. Stir and then gradually add cream cheese in. Mix well, and then fold in cream. Pour into a 6 1/2 ring mold and freeze. About an hour before serving, set out of the freezer and onto a serving plate. Really yummy!

Pumpkin Pecan Layer Pie

I'm going to be posting some of our Thanksgiving recipes- I realize it's too late for everyone to make for this year, but it's really more for me to have them handy for next year! We spend every holiday in different places and with different people- but I love making some of our families' favorites to bring "home" to wherever we are! This one is a pie Andy's Grandma Allen made the last Thanksgiving we had with her. She and Grandpa were so happy to make a copy of the recipe and share it- it makes me smile thinking of her when I make it!

INGREDIENTS:
15 oz. can of pumpkin
12 oz. can of evaporated milk
1 cup white granulated sugar
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
3 eggs
2 graham cracker crusts
18 oz. pkg of butter pecan cake mix
1/2 cup chopped pecans, divided
1 cup melted butter
Whipped Cream (I make my own using 2 cups of heavy whipping cream, 1 tsp vanilla and 6-8 TBL sugar- and just beat with a hand mixer until peaks form)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Stir together pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, spice and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Pour 1/2 the pumpkin mixture into each pie crust. Sprinkle 1/2 of the cake mix over each pie. Sprinkle 1/4 cup of pecans on each pie. Pour 1/2 cup melted butter over each pie. Cover edges of pie with aluminum foil to keep from over-browning during baking. Bake for 40 minutes. Allow pies to cool before cutting. Serve with whipped cream!

Corn Soufflé

One of my favorites from my Aunt Mary!


INGREDIENTS:
5 cans of corn drained
1/2 cup of butter
1/2 cup of sugar
1 TBL of flour
1 1/2 tsp of baking powder
1/2 cup of evaporated milk
2 eggs, well beaten

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. Melt the butter and stir in the sugar, gradually add flour and baking powder. Blend in milk and eggs, add corn and mix well.  The mixture should resemble pancake batter (not runny), pour into a greased baking dish and bake for 35 minutes or until done (all liquid gone). Remove from the oven and you can put melted butter on top, but I just serve it straight from the oven.

Sweet Potatoes

From my Aunt Mary


INGREDIENTS:
4 Whole Medium Sweet Potatoes
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Milk
2 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla
1 tsp Salt
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup pecans (chopped)
1/2 cup flour
3/4 stick of butter

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 375. Wash sweet potatoes and bake for 30-35 minutes (until a fork easily goes through- bakings times will differ on size of potatoes!). Remove from oven and slice them open and scrap out flesh into a bowl. Turn oven up to 400. Add 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs and 1 tsp of vanilla and salt. With a masher, mash up potatoes and mix the mixture together. You don't want the potatoes to be perfectly smooth. In another bowl, add brown sugar, pecans, 1/2 cup flour and 3/4 stick of butter and mash together until combined. Put potato mixture into a baking dish and sprinkle the crumb mixture on top. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

Maple Glazed Carrots

This recipe is from my Aunt Mary- one of many she shared that really made me feel like I was at home this Thanksgiving. 


INGREDIENTS:
12 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2 inch lengths (half or quarter the thicker ends)
8 TBL butter
1/4 cup maple syrup (not pancake syrup- the REAL thing!)
Fresh Lemon Juice
Pepper/Salt
Fresh Thyme Leaves

DIRECTIONS:
Melt butter in a large, heavy saute pan over medium-low heat and add carrots. Cover and braise, stirring occasionally until carrots are fork tender (about 20-30 minutes). Increase heat to medium and stir in syrup and a squeeze of lemon juice, cook for 2 minutes and season with salt, pepper and thyme. (I also added in a little brown sugar). Serve warm!